Adrian Zagoritis
Encyclopedia
Adrian Zagoritis (born 27 September 1968) is a British songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and producer whose songs are published by Universal UK
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...

 and EMI Germany
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

. Primarily a pop dance writer working often with award-winning German electronica act York
York (group)
York is a German electronica music duo, founded in 1997 by musicians and brothers Torsten and Jörg Stenzel. Producing downtempo, Chillout, House and Trance, their productions are known for catchy guitar hooks, atmospheric soundscapes and delicate dance textures....

, he has also had success with Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...

 and X Factor winners and pop artists in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain, France, and Japan.

Early life

Adrian Zagoritis started life in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

. Musical aptitude took a back seat to sport at school in UK, where he captained the cricket 1st team and represented the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) XI as a goalkeeper against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, QPR
QPR
QPR usually refers to Queens Park Rangers F.C., an English football club.QPR may also refer to:*Queen + Paul Rodgers, a 2004-2009 musical supergroup*Queen's Park Rangers , a football club playing in the Grenada League...

 and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 youth sides in 1986.

Career

Pursuing non-musical interests in Kenya he often visited the UK, working with artists like Sybil
Sybil Lynch
Sybil Lynch is an American R&B/pop singer, more popularly known as Sybil.-Career:Sybil has been recording since 1986 and is best known for her covers of Dionne Warwick's hits "Don't Make Me Over" and "Walk On By," which were released in 1989 and 1990, respectively...

, Mel Gaynor
Mel Gaynor
Mel George Gaynor is a British musician. He is best known as the long time drummer for the rock band, Simple Minds...

 from Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...

 and Maxi Priest
Maxi Priest
Max Alfred "Maxi" Priest is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with a R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion, and became one of the first international successes who regularly dabbled in the genre as well as being one of the most...

. Although writing and arranging several tracks for Mel Gaynor’s band ‘The Fusion Project’ in 1997, the album was never released as Gaynor rejoined Simple Minds for a world tour instead.

Songwriting and production – 2000 to 2007

Zagoritis returned to the UK in the new millennium fully committed to a musical career. Collaborations with writers like Geoffrey Williams, Rob Harris and Matt Johnson
Matt Johnson (keyboardist)
Matt Johnson is a keyboardist who plays for the alternative jazz band Jamiroquai.Matt was aged one and a half when he started playing the piano at his family home. ‘My dad was a musician so there was always music playing in the house, but I remember being taught by a scary old piano teacher, who...

, both of Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...

 saw releases spawned with South African Popstars winners Jamali
Jamali (band)
Jamali is a South African female musical group. The members are Jacqui Carpede, Mariechan Luiters and Liesl Penniken. The band was formed on the TV show Coca-Cola Popstars. Their name is from the first two letters of each of their names. Jamali was the runner-up to the boy band Ghetto Lingo...

 and Greek Popstars winners Hi-5
Hi-5 (Greek band)
Hi-5 was a Greek - Cypriot pop girl band consisting of female vocalists Marlen Angelidou, Irini Psichrami, Frosso Papacharalambous, Shaya and Nancy Stergiopoulou, who were the winners of the Greek version of the popular talent show Popstars. The band had a large fanbase in Greece and Cyprus. They...

. Hi-5 turned two Zagoritis singles ‘M’ena Fili’ and ‘Gennithika Ksana’ into Top 10 hits, the latter peaking at #5. Both albums achieved platinum status and Gennithika Ksana was nominated for an Arion award.

In 2004 Zagoritis began working with Torsten Stenzel
Torsten Stenzel
Torsten Stenzel is a German musician, songwriter, composer and producer for more than 22 years. Classically trained from an early age his roots are within the field of Electronic dance music...

, one half of the acclaimed electronica act York whose second single, "On The Beach", which sampled Chris Rea's song of the same name, reached #4 in the UK chart in June 2000.

One of the first of many releases of this partnership was the club hit ‘Iceflowers’ which was strongly supported by Judge Jules
Judge Jules
Judge Jules is a British dance music DJ and producer, known for his DJ activities and popular radio show which achieved global success.-Education:...

 and Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...

. Zagoritis and Stenzel wrote several tracks for the EMI-released York album Peace which also contained their often-remixed song ‘Mercury Rising’.

In 2005 Dutch singer EliZe
EliZe
-Singles:-Non-album appearances:Songs that feature EliZe or that she has sung but did not make the album cut:-External links:***...

 released his song Automatic
Automatic (I'm Talking to You)
"Automatic " is a dance/pop song written by Torsten Stenzel & Adrian Zagoritis and recorded by the Dutch singer EliZe. EliZe recorded the song in early 2005 and released it on March 7, 2005 as the second single from her 2006 debut album In Control, which was released in October 2006...

 which charted in the Top 10 in several countries. He also wrote a song following Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

's penalty shootout win in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League final titled Du the Dudek, performed by The Trophy Boyz

Mainstream pop releases followed in 2006 with Holland’s EMI act ROOOM charting with a Zagoritis/Geoffrey Williams single named ‘First Thing’, reaching #33. Zagoritis also continued to write underground material resulting in the avant-garde collaboration with ambient artist Asheni aka Angela Heldmann, writing 13 of 14 songs for her Offshore Music released album ‘Butterfly Survival Kit’.

In 2007 Germany’s feted Popstars winners No Angels
No Angels
The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...

, and DSDS (Germany’s X-factor equivalent) runner-up Linda Teodosiu (Sony), also chose his songs: ‘The Rhythm Of My Heart’ was included on the former’s album called ‘Destiny
Destiny (No Angels album)
Destiny is the fourth studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on April 13, 2007...

’ which reached #4.

2007 - 2010

Nightwish
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...

 ex-lead singer Tarja Turunen
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves....

 included several Zag songs for her debut solo album ‘My Winter Storm
My Winter Storm
My Winter Storm is the second solo album by Finnish singer Tarja Turunen, and the first to consist mainly of new and original songs specifically written by or for Turunen...

’. Turunen had split acrimoniously from her band and her album contained many veiled references to these experiences, as well as a brooding darkness. Zagoritis’s ‘Damned And Divine’, ‘The Reign’ and ‘Sunset’ reflect this mood and demonstrated further ability away from mainstream pop or dance music.

‘My Winter Storm’ took the # 1 spot on the Finnish charts, and went platinum in Finland and double platinum in Russia, as well as reaching gold status in Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland. It reached #3 In Germany. In late 2007 Turunen was nominated for an Echo as best newcomer and an Emma
EMMA
EMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....

 for best Finnish artist.

On Turunen’s next album, What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath is a 2000 American supernatural horror-thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis. It stars veteran actors Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a well-to-do couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets about their past....

, a title track composed by Zagoritis, Stenzel and Heldmann, he contributed ‘Naiad’ which he also wrote with Tarja. The album reached #4 in Germany and charted in eight other countries.

As a melodician and lyricist his style naturally gravitates to pop music and so a return to such projects followed with several releases for Natalia, Idol
Idool
Idool is the Belgian version of the Idol series. The series was launched in late 2002 by Belgian television network VTM. The contestants are first narrowed down to 100 contestants, and then down to 30-50 through several auditions and tests by a panel of judges. From this point on, the viewers...

 star in Belgium. The Zagoritis song ‘Soul Divided’ written with Madonna writer Greg Fitzgerald was released along with two other of his tunes on Natalia’s 2009 album Wise Girl which reached #1 for two weeks. The album achieved platinum status.

‘Soul Divided’ was also covered in Japanese by Avex-signed artist Mihiro in 2010, renamed Weekend.

Universal Germany artist Mihalis took eight Zagoritis lyrics for his album recorded in 2009, simply named ‘Mihalis
Mihalis (album)
Mihalis is a studio album by Greek-Cypriot singer Mihalis Hatzigiannis. Released in Germany on August 13, 2010 on Universal Music Germany via the label We Love Music, the album marks Hatzigiannis' first English-language album and eleventh overall studio album. The album contains twelve songs, along...

’. Seven of the songs were translations of his past Greek hits. One original song, ‘Favourite Mistake’, was written by Zagoritis and Grammy and Ivor Novello award-winner Rob Davis.

Progressive house projects continued in 2009 tracks with ‘Tears On My Skin’, also written with Davis and released on several albums including top-seller Dream Dance, and ‘Free The Night’ signed by renowned A+R Eddie O’ Loughlin to his Next Plateau label, distributed by Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...

. ‘Free The Night’ was well received but failed to chart.

Edurne
Edurne
Edurne García Almagro better known as Edurne is a Spanish pop singer. She came sixth in the fourth edition of the Spanish television series Operación Triunfo in 2005.She is the girlfriend of Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.-Discography:...

 the Spanish Pop singer released ‘Tan Artificial’ written by Zagoritis on ‘Nueva Piel’, a Sony BMG album that reached #16 in March 2010.

Current

Kate Ryan
Kate Ryan
Kate Ryan is a Belgian World Music Award winner. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of Mylène Farmer and France Gall, such as "Désenchantée", "Libertine" and "Ella, elle l'a" as well as new material...

, Robbins Entertainment World Music Award winner releases her album Electroshock in August 2011, the title track written by Zagoritis. It also contains his song ‘Walk To The Beat’ penned with Chrysalis writer Jukka Immonen.

Currently Zagoritis and Stenzel are working on songs for the latest York album set for release in late 2011, which will also include featured vocals from Danish songstress Tanja Thulau from Danish electronica act Luke
Luke (Danish band)
Luke is a Danish electronica band. Their personal style contains elements of many other genres such as bossa nova, rock, lounge, trip-hop. The three front figures of Henry, Tanja and Mike, have played together for more than 15 years.-Members:* Tanja Thulau...

.

Atlantic Records USA will release the single ‘I Spy’ (Spencer and Hill) written by Zagoritis and Yann Peifer of Cascada
Cascada
Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

 in September 2011.

Film/TV Work

His songs have appeared in the 2009 film ‘Fire’ starring Gary Dourdan
Gary Dourdan
Gary Robert Dourdan is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Warrick Brown on the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.-Early years:...

, ‘South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

’ and 2010 movie ‘Burning Palms’ directed by Christopher Landon starring Rosamunde Pike.

Discography (selected)

2003
  • M’ena Fili - Hi-5 (Warner)


2004
  • Iceflowers - York (EMI/Offshore)
  • Gennithika Ksana - Hi-5 (Warner)
  • Mercury Rising - York (EMI/Offshore)


2005
  • Automatic - EliZe (Spinnin Rec)


2006
  • First Thing - R.O.O.O.M. (EMI)
  • Get Up - R.O.O.O.M. (EMI)


2007
  • Freeze The Frame - Panevino (Purple Music)
  • Love Automatic - Cassis (Pony Canyon)


2008 Naughty - AfricanTwins (EMI/Offshore)
  • I Spy - Spencer and Hill (Zooland)


2009
  • So Invincible - Victoria (SoBeHo)
  • In Danger - MSTRSS (Ultra)


2010
  • Free The Night - Aquene (Next Plateau)
  • Dirty Love - Risskee (Universal/AATW)


2011
  • I Roam - Antillas (Plus 39)
  • Electroshock - Kate Ryan (Universal)
  • I Spy - Spencer and Hill (Atlantic)

Charts International/Awards

Releases shown with chart position/territory/certification (where applicable)
Year Title Chart Positions Certification
GER
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

AUT
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

SWI
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

GR
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

NL
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

FI
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

PL
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

FR
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

JP
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

RU
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

HU
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

CZE
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

BE
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

IT
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

NO
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

ES
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

2003 Hi-5 - ‘M’ena Fili 12 Gold (GR)
2003 Hi-5 - A Night Like This 3 Gold (GR)
2004 Hi-5 - Born Again 5 Gold (GR)
2005 EliZe - Automatic 63 7 11 15 67 18
2005 Martina Balogova – Gonna Give You Something 1
2006 ROOOM - First Thing 33
2007 Cassis - Love Automatic 51
2007 Tarja Turunen - My Winter Storm 3 11 15 1 18 36 Gold (GER,SWI,CZE,HU) Platinum (FI,RU)
2007 No Angels - Destiny 4 14 22
2008 Room 2012 - First Thing 10 20 22
2009 Natalia - Wise Girl 1 Platinum (BE)
2010 Edurne - Tan Artifical 16
2010 Tarja Turunen - What Lies Beneath 4 12 11 14 7 14 6 1
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